Keeping track of inventory, whether books or documents or electronic copies or goods or sensitive material, is a continual task. Determining where an inventory item is presently located, or mislocated, is increasingly time consuming as the inventory grows and items are repaired, maintained, replaced, or moved and recharacterized. Inclusion of a paper slip noting the “history” of the item is only acceptable if the item users are diligent about supplementing this history with an account of recent activities involving the item and/or the present status of the item. Where multiple copies of an inventory item are present and are kept in different locations, the tasks become correspondingly multiplied.
What is needed is a system that (1) indicates whether a selected item or category of items is present in the collection; and, if present, identifies the location(s) of the item(s) using a visually perceptible and/or audibly perceptible signal; and (2) the present condition or status, if known, of the item(s). Preferably, the system should be flexible and should permit implementation of one or more redefined categories for subsequent searches.